Travel group TUI has reassured employees that possible sanctions won’t have any lasting impact on the business.
The company’s largest single shareholder, Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov, could be sanctioned over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Our company is run by the Executive Board, like any German public limited company, and not by the shareholders or the supervisory board,” said TUI CEO Fritz Joussen in a staff memo.
The firm is not aware of any possible sanctions against Mordashov yet but questions over it are ‘legitimate.’
“A solution is not in our hands. This is the time of the governments and the community of states,” Joussen added, referring to possible operational disruption.
“We are monitoring the developments intensively in order to assess possible consequences and to be able to put plans into place if necessary.”
“We ourselves are no longer represented with companies in Russia and Ukraine. As you know, we sold our shareholdings in the tour operators in Russia and Ukraine some time ago. However, in order to ensure the safety of our customers, we will make or have already made adjustments in some areas, such as flight routes and cruise destinations.”
Mordashov has been a TUI shareholder for 15 years and holds about a third of the company.
